


Open Arms

by Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bisexual Disaster Adaar, Dorian is a Good Friend, F/F, F/M, I Made Myself Cry, Josie helps the other two get their heads out of their asses, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Requited Unrequited Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, happy tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-30 23:26:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11473872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler/pseuds/Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler
Summary: When Tamenli Adaar first saw Blackwall and Josephine standing side by side, her first instinct was a feeling of relief. They were talking politely, and Tam was thankful that her two favourite humans were getting along.





	Open Arms

**Author's Note:**

> I was dead set on romancing Josie with my first Adaar... but then I recruited Blackwall and my feelings rebelled, so a compromise was reached.

When Tamenli Adaar first saw Blackwall and Josephine standing side by side, her first instinct was a feeling of relief. They were talking politely, and Tam was thankful that her two favourite humans were getting along.

The sight came with a faint sting, however; the plea _my lady, don’t_ still echoed in the back of her mind. Tam had been giving Blackwall space ever since the tense conversation on the ramparts, and some of that had space had driven Tam to visit the Ambassador more often than before. While Tamenli’s attraction to Josephine had been instantaneous, the warrior was still useless at speaking to her like a noble, and the upcoming gala at the Winter Palace was the perfect excuse to spend more time with Josephine, while still increasing Tamenli’s chances of charming the Orlesian court.

The sunlight was cast with a blue hue as it filtered through the stained glass windows, and the light made Josephine’s dark hair seem impossibly silky while high-lighting the Grey Warden’s grey eyes and the cutting edge of his cheekbone. For all of their opposites, Blackwall and Josephine seemed profoundly _right_ , standing next to each other and simply talking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The call of her name jolted Tamenli out of her inner monologue, and to her horror, Josephine was waving to her. At first, Tam attempted to steel herself. She’d faced down pride demons and Red Templar Horrors without blinking; how bad could a conversation with two gorgeous humans be?

Immediately, Tam bolted for the closest door—the one that lead to the rotunda. She’d take a stilted conversation with Solas over talking to both Blackwall _and_ Josephine any day.

Thankfully, Solas was absent from his usual haunt, and Tam was left to still her wildly beating heart in peace-

“Is the new approach to dealing with dignitaries running from them, then?” asked a curious voice from above.

-or so she’d thought. Tam was about to snap at the haughty altus to back off, but it dawned on her suddenly that Dorian might just be her solution. A noble, objectively handsome human that Tam didn’t stumble through conversations with was just what she needed.

Tam took the stairs two at a time, stuttering to a halt as she came up to Dorian and his reading nook. “I need your help,” she panted.

In stuttering, halting words, Tamenli related the basics of her dilemma while making sure not to name any names. If Dorian told Iron Bull, it would doubtless make it to Sera, which meant that it would be all over Skyhold before the sun set.

“Is that… something, for humans?” Tamenli finished hesitantly. “Having three people in a relationship like that, I mean? I would hate to choose between them, and if they chose each other, well, I would be happy for them, but…”

The two of them had sat down inside his reading nook, legs extended to touch the opposite bookshelf while still facing each other. Tamenli ran a hand through her own dark hair, released from its usual tight bun to make waves down to her shoulders. Dorian raised his eyebrows from where he sat, before sighing dejectedly.

“I believe you’ve come to the wrong person entirely for this sort of thing,” Dorian explained. “You know Tevinter doesn’t give a damn about personal feelings when it comes to intimacy, which often translates to not giving a damn about feelings full stop. I can’t say for certain what anyone south of Tevinter would say about a three-person match.”

Tam nodded sullenly as she stood up. “Thanks anyhow, Dorian. I’ll just have to find some other way to fix this.”

Dorian, however, broke out into a grin as he accepted Tam’s hand up. “Not so fast, my dear Inquisitor. I _can_ tell you that Ambassador Montilyet’s favourite flower is crystal grace, and Blackwall has been particularly anxious about you leaving Skyhold without him.”

Tamenli couldn’t help the flush of heat that darkened her grey skin, and she only mumbled a thanks before retreating down the stairs. If she was so obvious that _Dorian_ could see it, then there wasn’t any doubt that Josephine already knew and was more than likely telling Blackwall this very second. 

* * *

As they watched Tamenli disappear into the rotunda, Blackwall and Josephine seemed to wilt in tandem. Blackwall shifted his weight from foot to foot uneasily, and Josephine crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably.

"She knows, doesn't she?" Josie fretted. 

“She only returned from Crestwood this morning, she can’t know yet,” reasoned Blackwall.

While the Inquisitor was clearing up the mess in Crestwood, both Josephine and Blackwall had keenly felt her absence. Despite being swamped with paperwork and attempting to win favours for the du Paraquettes, Josephine had visited the gardens. When she was in Skyhold, Tamenli frequented the gardens often, tending to the Prophet’s Laurel and Royal Elfroot plants, saying that they calmed her.

To Josephine’s surprise, Blackwall was already there, kneeling in front of the prophet’s laurel with his eyes closed. The Ambassador and the Warden had exchanged a few pleasantries before, idly talked about the Inquisitor’s inner circle and how Her Worship must be faring out in the field with whomever she’d chosen to take with her, but Josephine hadn’t considered that perhaps Blackwall would be missing Tamenli as keenly as she was.

“Lady Josephine,” acknowledged Blackwall.

“Warden Blackwall,” Josie greeted. She sat on the stone bench closest to her, and hesitated slightly, choosing her next words carefully. “You miss her greatly, don’t you?”

“Don’t you?” he countered, moving to sit next to her on the bench. “I know she enjoys your company when she’s here. I’ve heard her wonder aloud if she’s bothering you, with how frequently she visits.”

Josephine smiled bashfully at the thought and at the way Blackwall’s grey eyes seemed penetrating. “She could never be a bother,” she insisted, “and I’ve heard from Master Dennet that despite her aversion to riding horses, she visits the barn more often than anyone aside from himself and the stable hands.”

Something like a smile seemed to lurk under his beard for a moment, before he shook his head and turned somber again. “She finds your advice invaluable, Josephine. I’m just another soldier.”

“Not to her,” Josephine stated firmly. Suddenly the absurdity hit her, and a brief giggle escaped before she clamped down on the amusement. “Are we really attempting to convince one another who Tamenli cares for more?”

“It seems we are.” The deep chuckle from Blackwall brings a grin to Josie’s face. The difference between Blackwall now and the sulking that he’d been doing ever since the Inquisitor left with the Iron Bull was so stark, Josie wondered if perhaps she was dreaming. If she was, it was the nicest dream she’d had in a long term.

Seemingly all once, Blackwall sobered up and turned to face Josie with a stern expression. “Tam deserves someone who she can come home to, who can put her first. I can’t give her that-“

“And you think I can? I am grateful that she seeks me out, because more often than not, I am a prisoner in my own office, and I envy the time you get to spend with her in the field,” Josie admitted. “You have her back, and she has yours.”

“She can’t afford to care about me in the field-“ protested Blackwall, but Josie quickly cut him off by suddenly standing up and glaring down at him.

“And I can?” she demanded. Immediately, Josie wished she could bite the words back, but as Blackwall’s grey eyes were blown wide with surprise, Josie knew she had to press her advantage now or lose everything.

“Yes, I worry about the _both_ of you, in equal measure,” admitted Josephine. “But it helps me to know that you _both_ would do anything for each other. And yes, I treasure the moments with you just as much as the moments with Tamenli. Although, she doesn’t send me flowers and then shy away when I attempt to thank her for them,” Josephine chided gently, sitting down once more and taking Blackwall’s hand in both of her own. 

His hand trembled faintly, and he had the look of a man who’s world had just been rocked to its very foundation. “I can’t say I know what I did to deserve the both of you, my lady,” Blackwall admitted softly, “But if someone asked me to choose between you and Tam, I don’t think I could make a choice like that.”

In a fit of giddiness, Josephine pressed a kiss to Blackwall’s cheek and let out a sigh of relief. The pink hue that sprung up on his face brought a grin to her face, just as when he entwined his fingers with hers and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand.

“What do we tell Tamenli then, Josephine?” he asked.

“We tell her that she doesn’t have to choose anymore, and that if she’ll have us, then we are hers,” Josie declared, butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the thought.

However, now that Tamenli was back from Crestwood, she was obviously dodging them both at every opportunity, which turned Josie into a fretting mess.

“We’ll just have to go to her instead,” Blackwall said firmly. Now that all the love he’d ever wanted was within reach, he’d be damned if he let it slip through his fingers like he’d almost done before.

* * *

Tamenli idly twisted a stem of prophet’s laurel over and under her fingers, letting its soothing scent wash over her. The sun was just beginning to disappear behind the craggy Frostbacks, and it painted streaks of gold across the sky. Tam regarded the effect for a few moments, before shaking her head at herself.

“Silly,” she muttered under her breath.

“I think the view’s beautiful, actually, but I may be biased.”

Blackwall was leaning on the stone fence beside her with his head tilted to look at her straight on. He seemed so relaxed, tension completely absent from his shoulders and the lines of his face fainter than usual, that Tamenli almost thought that maybe she’d fallen asleep and a desire demon stood before her.

“If I may dare to offer a second opinion,” said a voice on Tam’s left, “It is indeed an exceptionally beautiful evening.”

Josephine stood on Tamenli’s other side in her usual dress-tunic, with a single blossom of crystal grace braided into her hair. Dorian’s teasing advice from earlier leapt to the front of Tam’s mind, and she couldn’t stop the flush that flared across her face. Josephine smiled in response, and gently placed her hand atop Tamenli’s.

“Tamenli, I treasure the moments I have with you more than anything,” Josie declared softly. “And I treasure the time I spend with Blackwall just as much.”

“I don’t know what either of us would do without our Josie, Tam,” added Blackwall. “But I can’t think about what Josie or I would do if we lost you.”

“What-“ Tam’s voice came out as a croak, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “What are you two saying?”

“If you’ll be ours, Tam-“

“Then we are yours, my dear.”

Tamenli knew that a goofy, too-wide smile was spreading across her face, but she didn’t try to stop it. She squeezed Josie’s hand experimentally, and her grin grew just slightly wider when Josie squeezed back. When she reached for Blackwall’s hand, he readily tangled his fingers with hers, his grip firm and warm. Tam’s eyes began to mist over, but she didn’t bother to wipe the tears away.

“This really isn’t a dream,” she stated dumbly, staring at the two hands that held her own. “It’s really real.”

“And why shouldn’t it be?” Josie asked softly, rubbing her thumb across the back of Tam’s hand.

A watery chuckle escaped Tam. “Because _you_ -" she squeezed Josie’s hand, “deserve someone just as elegant and noble as you are, and because _you_ -" Blackwall’s hand now, the Anchor buzzing slightly against his skin, “don’t want me.”

Blackwall narrowed his eyes and clasped Tam’s hand in both of his. Unless Tam’s eyesight was tricking her, which wasn’t impossible, his eyes were misting over as well. “With respect, my lady, that is horseshit. I couldn’t _not_ want you if I tried. And in the beginning, I tried, believe me. You deserve better than me, Tammie, but I told you back in Haven, you’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met.”

Josephine chimed in, “And I have never met anyone as elegant, noble, _and_ kind as the two of you, so you both can stop with deciding what kind of happiness you do or don’t deserve.” She pressed a kiss to Tamenli’s cheek, right on the spray of freckles that had first caught her attention, as if to punctuate her statement. 

“I’m getting you a bouquet of crystal grace as soon as possible, Josie,” Tam declared, a silly smile stretching across her face until her cheeks ached. “Handpicked, if possible. And I want you there with me, Blackwall, darling; Dorian has reports of Venatori in the Hinterlands and despite Cassandra’s Seeker abilities, I trust you with my back the most.”

It wasn’t an “I love you”, not yet. They were too new, tentative, and starry-eyed. But there was more than one way to tell someone you loved them, and Tamenli Adaar would sooner fight a dragon in her smalls than allow her _kadani_ to feel unloved.

**Author's Note:**

> the plural form of kadan is my own personal headcanon, mostly because "kadans" felt too clunky. if anyone has canon to debunk this, feel free to share. This is my first Dragon Age work, and I'm really proud of it!


End file.
